


Playdate

by floweringrebel



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Kissing, Lunch, Playgrounds, Swimming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22692367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floweringrebel/pseuds/floweringrebel
Summary: Rio sat on a park bench, watching Marcus having fun on the playground. Rio smiled at his son, beaming like a ray of sunshine. His sense of pride in his little man was growing everyday. Marcus was helping a girl build a sandcastle, handing her the little bucket of water they needed to mold their castle into fruition.Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a strawberry blonde standing tall in her pumps, wearing a light yellow floral sundress. She was grinning at the young girl Marcus was playing with. Must be her mother, he thought.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Comments: 12
Kudos: 79





	Playdate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DropKickDisco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropKickDisco/gifts).



> #52 on the kissing prompt off of Tumblr. Written for Anon and dropkickdisco6 on Tumblr. 
> 
> In this universe, Jane is the only Boland child. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!!! 💜💜💜

Rio sat on a park bench, watching Marcus having fun on the playground. Rio smiled at his son, beaming like a ray of sunshine. His sense of pride in his little man was growing everyday. Marcus was helping a girl build a sandcastle, handing her the little bucket of water they needed to mold their castle into fruition.

Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a strawberry blonde standing tall in her pumps, wearing a light yellow floral sundress. She was grinning at the young girl Marcus was playing with. Must be her mother, he thought. 

Moments passed and the kids were continuing their castle building. She wasn't standing anymore, she was sitting on the bench closest to the kids. Rio was officially intrigued by this woman, and not just because her sex appeal was on fire, but because the look of absolute joy on her face watching the kids. 

Rio realized he was staring for way too long, so he tried to refocus on Marcus. There was something about her though, she was glowing in the sunlight. A part of him bet himself that she didn't need the sun to glow. She was clearly attentive and undeniably gorgeous. 

"Daddy, Daddy, look!" Marcus shouted with pride in his voice. The sand castle was standing with four main pillars, a moat with a messy looking sand-gator standing guard, the castle had an arched doorway with a messy drawbridge leading out. 

"I see it, Good job, Pop!" Rio proudly responded. "Good teamwork too! That gator is a nice touch." He saw that the woman's eyes were on him. He grinned. 

"What's your name?" Marcus asked the girl. 

"Jane." 

"It was Jane's idea to have the gator!" 

"Good thinkin', Jane." Rio replied. 

The woman was suddenly next to Rio. "Hi, I'm Beth. Jane's mom." Her arm was outstretched and she was offering him her hand to shake. Rio took it, noting the firm handshake.

"I'm Rio, and that's my son, Marcus." 

"Nice to meet you both." She smiled graciously at him. 

"Ya, Ma, it is." He smiled back just as graciously. 

"I'm glad Jane has a friend now. This year's been hard on her." She paused, "Would you like to set up a playdate sometime? I could make some cupcakes. Or a blueberry buckle." 

"Buckle?" Questioned Rio. 

"Yeah, it's like a cake but with fruit in it and a streusel topping. The cake rises as it bakes and the fruit and topping weigh it down causing it to buckle." 

"Ah, well I'm sure Marcus would love to see Jane again. When were you thinkin'?" 

"This Saturday around 1?" 

"Yeah, that'll work. Meet here, yeah?" 

"Actually, I was thinking you could come to my house. We have a treehouse in the backyard and a kiddie pool. Does Marcus like to swim? Jane does." Beth seemed a little nervous, judging by the speed of the words coming out of her mouth. 

"Yeah, he loves it. Gimme your phone." 

"Wha-ttt?" Beth stuttered out. 

"Your phone, Ma. I'll put my number in it and you can text me your address. Sound good, yeah?" 

Beth nodded, fishing for her phone out of her purse, she unlocked it and handed it over. Before Rio could grab it though, she dropped it. The phone hit the grass with a small thud. Otherwise, it didn't seem damaged. "Sorry. " Beth mumbled as she bent over to pick it up. This time, Rio got it. 

Rio entered his number into her text app and sent a text to his phone. "There. I got your number now too." He handed it back to her, and she seemed a little relieved at getting it back. "Don't forget to text me the address." 

"Hey, Pop? It's time to go. Your mom's waiting for you at home." 

Rio noticed Beth's face faltered a bit at that, but she immediately covered it up with a huge grin. "Jane, we have to get on our way too. Mommy has to go grocery shopping for dinner tonight. C'mon, get your stuff." 

Jane and Marcus both pouted at their parents. "Can we stay ten more minutes?" "I'm not ready." They respectively yelled at the same time. 

Rio went to pick him up. Marcus wasn't having it, he started flailing. "Now, Pop, if you keep this up, we won't play at Jane's on Saturday. I'll give you five seconds to calm down and then we're going to your mom's. She's missed you." 

Marcus stops flailing almost instantly. "Ok, Daddy. You can put me down now. I'll be good." Rio set him down and reached to hold his hand. Marcus took his hand. "Bye, Jane, bye Jane's mom." 

"Bye, Elizabeth." Beth blushed a little at that. Rio smirked. 

"Bye, Marcus." Jane replied. "Bye, Marcus's dad." 

"Bye, Marcus, have a good time with your mom!" She paused for a minute, "See you Saturday, Rio." 

Rio and Marcus turned away from Jane and Beth, crossing the park to get to their black BMW. 

Sitting in front of his steering wheel, he couldn't stop thinking about Beth and their interaction. He smiled once more before finally starting the car and driving away. 

**********

Beth decided on making the buckle, but she went with a lemon blueberry recipe instead. She was also planning on making a salad and chicken nuggets for the kids too. However, she wasn't sure if Rio was planning on feeding him before coming over. She thought about texting him to ask, but every time she thought of it, she'd talk herself out of it completely. She didn't want to bother him. And they were coming in an hour anyway, so she could ask then. No big deal. Then why did it feel like one, she thought to herself. 

Jane was in the other room, working on her 100 large pieces jigsaw puzzle. Buddy was laying snuggly next to her. Beth could hear her humming a song she didn't recognize and could see the look of concentration etched across her face. 

"How's it going in there, honeybun?" She asked Jane. 

Jane looked up and turned her face to see her mom in the kitchen. "It's good, Mommy, just need to find the right piece!" 

"You'll find it!"

"I know, Mommy!" She responded without taking her eyes off of the puzzle pieces. 

Beth checked the timer on the oven, the buckle still had fifteen minutes left, and Rio and Marcus will be here 30 minutes. She got all the ingredients out  
of fridge for the salad and grabbed a huge salad bowl from the cupboard. She walked to the other side of the counter where the cutting boards are kept, grabbed one and got a knife out of the drawer. She started chopping the red onion in thinly sliced pieces, then the tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, romaine lettuce and finally mixed it together with the spring mix she also had. She took out another bowl and placed it on the counter. She walked over to the pantry for balsamic vinegar and olive oil to start whipping up the dressing, adding herbs and spices as well as grain mustard to it. 

Beth finished up the salad, covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. Beth walked into the living room to check on Jane. Jane looked really focused on the puzzle. "Did you find your piece?" 

"Yeah, but now I'm looking for another one." 

"Well you're doing great, almost halfway done!" She said as she tousled Jane's hair. 

"Thanks, Momma." Jane responded with a gleaming smile, clearly proud of herself.

"I'm sure Marcus and his dad are on their way now. Are you hungry?" 

Jane nodded as she fitted another piece in the puzzle in place. 

"I'm going to go back in the kitchen and put the chicken nuggets in the oven, ok? If you need me, that's where I'll be." 

"I know." 

Beth gave her a kiss on the head before returning to the kitchen. She got the buckle out of the oven and let it cool on top of a cooling rack that was set on the island. She then adjusted the oven temperature for the chicken nuggets. Her mind wandered to Rio as she placed the chicken nuggets on the cookie sheet. What does he think of me? He certainly agreed to the playdate quickly.. Am I crazy? We're literally strangers and I gave him my address willingly. What if he's not a good person? He seemed good though. And Jane was having so much fun with Marcus. Yes, I'm doing this for Jane. The oven beeped signaling that it was fully preheated now. Beth placed the chicken nuggets in the oven and set the timer. 

The doorbell rang loudly. Jane ran to it immediately, and excitedly said, "They're here, they're here, they're here!" 

Beth opened the door. Rio was already looking directly at her, their eyes meeting and a smirk was on his lips. Marcus ran over the threshold to give Jane a big hug. Beth moved back to let Rio in. He stepped in real close to Beth. She smelled just how great he smelled and resisted the urge to breathe him in deeply as he passed by. 

"I made the buckle and I thought the kids would enjoy chicken nuggets and salad. Did you and Marcus eat yet?" 

"Nah, we haven't had lunch yet. Sounds good, Ma." 

Beth shut the door behind him. Jane and Marcus ran to the other room, Beth could hear her list off all the toys she had in her toy chest and Marcus's energy was just as excited. 

"Well I'm going to check on the food in the kitchen…" Beth trailed off awkwardly. She stood there a moment too long, just looking at him. His eyes stared back at her, a smile formed on his lips and he nodded at her in response to what she had said. She blinked and started making her way to the kitchen. Rio followed closely behind her. 

"Did you make enough nuggets for us to eat too or do we get more adult entrees?" The look in his eyes as he said adult was enough to get Beth to feel things. 

"Um...I made enough for us too." She softly replied. She needed to breathe. In and out. In and out. She saw that the nuggets still had 15 minutes left to cook, so she decided to sit at the nearby table. Rio watched her. 

"Good, 'cause I love me some nuggets." He laughed softly, that smile was so bright that Beth's heart fluttered. 

"Me too, honestly." She giggled at herself. "They're a guilty pleasure." 

"Oh? And what else is a pleasure for you?" Rio winked at her. 

"Uh...um…uh..." Beth was rendered speechless. 

Rio stepped closer to Beth, standing tall near her still sitting at the table. He reached over with his finger and brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face. Beth closed her eyes at the feel of it. And then his lips met hers. So soft. Gentle. She moaned lightly in response. She opened her mouth, inviting his tongue. He sucked on her bottom lip for a few seconds and then his tongue explored her mouth, tasting her sweetness, and feeling the heat radiating off of her was drawing him closer and closer into her. 

Thud!! The sound startled them from their kiss. They turned to see what had made the sound. Jane and Marcus were standing there, a Barbie car and airplane at their feet. Beth could see the look of surprise and confusion on their little faces. 

"Why are you kissing my daddy?" Marcus asked. 

"I kissed her, Pop." Rio replied. 

Beep! Beep! Beep! The timer went off. "The chicken nuggets are done! Why don't you guys wait for lunch at the table? And we'll bring it to you, ok?" Jane and Marcus nodded and went to sit at the table. Beth stood up right away and went into the kitchen. She turned the timer off, grabbed the oven mitts out of the drawer on her right, and she took out the chicken nuggets and set them to cool on the stove. She grabbed the salad out of the fridge and gave it a little shake to remix the dressing. She set it down on the counter closest to the stove. 

"Where are the plates, Elizabeth?" Rio asked a little too close. Beth could feel the heat radiating off of him and she wanted his skin on her skin so badly. She shook her head to get rid of that thought. 

She cleared her throat, "Um, they're in that cupboard." She pointed at the cupboard to his right. 

He nodded and grabbed the plates from the cupboard. Beth was still standing in front of the oven, waiting for the plates so she could start serving lunch. Rio couldn't help but graze her lower back with his left hand as he set the plates down near the salad with his right hand. Beth shivered at his touch. "Where's the silverware, Ma?" 

"Uh..." she cleared her throat, trying to gain back her composure. "The silverware drawer is that drawer to the left of the fridge." Rio grabbed four forks from the drawer and placed them next to the plates, this time he resisted the urge to touch her again. 

She grabbed the first plate and started placing the salad on the plate and then the chicken nuggets. She repeated the process three more times and added the forks to the plates. Rio grabbed two of the plates wordlessly and Beth took the other two. Beth set the plates she was holding in front of Jane and Marcus. Rio handed her a plate and she sat down across from him. "Thank you."

"Nah, thank you, Elizabeth." Rio looked at her intensely. 

Beth blushed. "You're welcome." They stared at each other for a moment. 

"Mommy, can I have ketchup?"

"Yeah, can I have ketchup too?" Marcus asked before Beth could answer. 

"Yes, honeybun, you can go get it for you and Marcus." Beth replied. Jane hopped down from her chair and ran to the fridge. 

Rio was looking at Marcus as Marcus took a bite of the salad. "Is that good, bud?" 

"Yeah, I like salad now." 

Rio laughed. "That's good, Pop. Your mom will be thrilled you're finally eating your greens." 

There, it was again. Beth couldn't stop the pang of jealousy from forming in her gut. Will you stop? She chided herself in her thoughts. He kissed you. You. Obviously, he's not with Marcus's mother anymore. Marcus would have freaked out a lot more if he was right? You barely know him. Calm down. She willed her thoughts to stop. 

Jane came back to the table, ketchup in hand. She squeezed the bottle over her plate, it sputtered out at first and then she was done. She handed it to Marcus. 

"So, Elizabeth, what do you do for fun?" The look on Rio's face told her he had his own ideas. She could feel the goosebumps spread over her body. She had never felt like this before. This charged. 

"Well, I bake a lot and I like making... things. What about you?" She managed to say, even with all the nervous energy she was feeling. 

"Hanging out with this little man, mostly." He replied as he tousled Marcus's hair. Marcus grinned. 

"Yeah, we always have fun!" Marcus agreed. 

Beth grinned at them both. The sight of them almost made her heart burst. Rio was so good with him and Marcus was too adorable. It scared Beth how much she was already feeling towards him and Marcus, but she couldn't help it. 

Marcus and Jane got to talking about their favorite cartoons. They found out that they like the same ones. Beth and Rio offered their opinions too wherever Marcus or Jane asked for their input. Beth could barely keep her eyes off of Rio throughout the whole lunch, she even caught him staring a couple times. Each time she did, she'd blush as if she were the one caught staring and not the other way around. 

"Did you bring swimming trunks, Marcus?" Beth asked after she cleared the table. 

"Daddy? Did we bring 'em?" 

"Yeah, Pop. It's in the car though, I'll get it. You hang tight, yeah?" 

"Okay, Daddy." Rio walked out the door. Beth's eyes watched him go.

Marcus followed Jane into the other room. Jane wanted help with the puzzle and Marcus was ecstatic to offer help. 

Beth watched them from the hallway, a smile almost permanently plastered on her face. Seeing Jane with Marcus made her heart sing. Jane was so happy to have someone to talk to. She had been so reserved since Dean had died. Stopped being her outgoing and friendly self. She had even stopped talking to her friends. Eventually, they moved on. It started to change a couple months ago, Jane started showing glimpses of the young girl from before. It had been two years since Dean died. 

Suddenly, Rio's fingers were resting on the small of Beth's back as he whispered into her ear, "I want to kiss you.' Beth shivered at the feel of his breath on her ear. 

Beth exhaled and closed her eyes, "I...I do too." She cleared her throat and opened her eyes. "Okay, guys, it's time to change into your swim suits! Marcus, you can change in that bathroom over there." She pointed at the door to their left. "And Jane, let's go upstairs and get you changed for the pool." Beth reluctantly stepped away from Rio's fingertips and grabbed Jane's hand, leading her upstairs. 

"Here, Pops." Rio handed Marcus his swim trunks. Marcus grabbed them enthusiastically and ran to the bathroom, inadvertently slamming the door behind him. 

Ten minutes later, the kids were all set to get into the pool. Jane got in first and started splashing Marcus. Marcus squealed at Jane and got in the pool right away to splash Jane back. Rio and Beth laughed at their kids' hijinks from the top of the picnic table in her yard. The kids started acting like different kinds of marine animals in the water, starting with sharks and then walruses. 

"Hey, Mama, can I take you out, say Saturday night?" Rio winked at her. 

"Yes, I'd love to. What time?" Her smile was beaming so brightly. Beth could feel the anticipation already growing within her. 

"Six, sound good?" Rio responded. Beth nodded as she wasn't sure she could speak actual words at the moment. The expression on his face was overwhelming her with desire and she couldn't bare looking away but she also couldn't bare looking directly at him either. She just froze, staring at him. "I'll see ya then." He smirked at her, before getting up off the table. "Marcus, buddy, we gotta head out in five minutes." 

"Oh, leaving so soon?" Beth tried to mask the look of disappointment with a smile, but Rio saw it. 

"Sorry, Ma, we have dinner plans at my mom's and she's an hour drive away. She's been hounding me to bring Marcus for months." He laughed, thinking about his last conversation with his mother. He knew if he was in the same room with her, she would've hit him, playfully needing to reprimand him. "I'll be here next week for our date and text me when you miss me." He smirked, clearly pleased with himself.

"Oh you think I'll miss you, huh? Maybe you'll miss me first." 

"Oh I know I will, Ma." He reached over and brushed the hair out of her face, looking intently in her eyes for a moment before he met his lips with hers. They were kissing softly until Beth deepened it, letting her passion takeover momentarily until she remembered their kids were still close by. Beth broke the kiss with a laugh. Rio grinned. "What's so funny?" 

"Just remembered that we have little ones and they have eyes and that kiss was getting way too heated." Beth said talking with her hands, they were waving around awkwardly in front of her. She didn't know what she was doing with them. "I'm laughing at myself. I feel like a teenager again." 

He laughed. "Yeah, there's something about you, Elizabeth. Makes me crazy." Beth blushed in response. 

Marcus and Jane went back to a splash fight and the water hit Rio. He let out a high pitched gasp that had all of them laughing hard. 

"Cold, Rio?" Beth asked teasingly. 

"Do you wanna feel, Elizabeth?" He made a gesture like he was going to scoop her up. 

"No! No! No! No!" She screamed, squirming her way away from his grasp. "Shouldn't you be on your way? Your poor mother is waiting for you and Marcus!" 

"Shit, Ma, you right." Beth looked appalled at his word choice and Rio just laughed and stopped trying to grab her. "Time to go, Marcus." He turned and helped Marcus out of the pool. Jane wanted a hand too, so Rio helped her out as well. 

They all walked inside. Marcus changed in the bathroom as he did before and Jane changed in her room. Beth hung up her wet swimsuit in the bathroom. They quickly returned downstairs to say their goodbyes. Jane gave Marcus the biggest hug. It melted Beth's heart. Then Jane gave Rio a hug and Rio even got down on her level to meet her. Beth's heart melted even more. Beth went in for a hug and whispered, "I can't wait for our date already." His arms had felt like home. They pulled back on their hug and looked at each other. Beth felt seen and that made her feel vulnerable, scared for how much she was already feeling for him. He kissed her then, softly, with a tenderness she had never felt prior. It made her heart burst yet again. She almost felt like crying. But instead she sucked on his bottom lip before slipping her tongue into his mouth. He tasted good. Rio explored her mouth as well. He broke it off before it got too hot or inappropriate and he did really need to go. He really wished he didn't though. 

"I can't wait either, Elizabeth. Think about me and whatnot." He winked at her before taking Marcus's hand and walking out the door. The door clicking shut never felt like this. Empty. And it was at that moment, she had realized they had forgotten the buckle.


End file.
